9 Passengers Removed From AirTran Airways Jet

[TCAS]

Others on Flight Say a Remark Was 'Suspicious'

Officials ordered nine Muslim passengers, including three young children, off an AirTran flight headed to Orlando from Reagan National Airport yesterday afternoon after two other passengers overheard what they thought was a suspicious remark.

Members of the party, all but one of them U.S.-born citizens who were headed to a religious retreat in Florida, were subsequently cleared for travel by FBI agents who characterized the incident as a misunderstanding, an airport official said. But the passengers said AirTran refused to rebook them, and they had to pay for seats on another carrier secured with help from the FBI.

Full article

Source: The Washington Post

[jan_olieslagers]

How different this msg would look if the heading just said "Passengers removed from AirTran" ...

[Advisor]

Jan makes the point more apt. Let us not communalise the same hatred spread everywhere.

[Bottie]

Agree. Title changed.

[LX-LGX]

... But the passengers said AirTran refused to rebook them, and they had to pay for seats on another carrier secured with help from the FBI..."

This is not correct. They have been refunded and AirTran offered them a rebooking after they were cleared by security. The airline has published two press releases about this incident. If the above statement from the passengers is correct, they are just preparing a claim against AirTran. Quote from one AirTran press release: "... The airline has refunded the air fares of the nine passengers detained for questioning, has agreed to reimburse the passengers for expenses incurred by taking another airline and has also offered to transport the passengers home to Washington, DC, free of charge..."

First press release:

At departure time, the Captain of flight 175 informed the airline that there were two federal air marshals onboard who contacted local and federal Washington law enforcement officials for a security related issue onboard the aircraft involving verbal comments made by a passenger and overheard by other passengers. The airline then advised the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). It was determined that all 104 passengers onboard must deplane and passengers, crew, baggage and the aircraft should be re-screened. After the re-screening of the passengers, crew, bags and the aircraft, 95 passengers were allowed to reboard the aircraft and nine were detained for interrogation by the local law enforcement officials, the FBI and the TSA. Flight 175 departed nearly two hours late and arrived safely at its destination.

Later in the day, six of the nine detained passengers approached the customer service counter and asked to be rebooked to Orlando. At the time, the airline had not been notified by the authorities that the passengers were cleared to fly and would not rebook them until receiving said clearance. One passenger in the party became irate and made inappropriate comments. The local law enforcement officials came over and escorted the passengers away from the gate podium.

AirTran Airways complied with all TSA, law enforcement and Homeland Security directives and had no discretion in the matter. The nine passengers involved were all offered full refunds and may fly with AirTran Airways again after having been released from questioning and cleared by the law enforcement officials.

Second press release:

Our goal at AirTran Airways is to offer a safe, pleasant and positive travel experience for all customers every day on every flight. We sincerely regret that the passengers on flight 175 did not have a positive travel experience on January 1, 2009.

Security is a shared responsibility and this incident highlights the multiple layers of security that are in place in today's aviation environment. While ultimately this issue proved to be a misunderstanding, the steps taken were necessary.

Alert passengers reported to the flight crew what they believed were inappropriate comments allegedly made by one of the passengers onboard, and the flight crew notified the federal air marshals that were assigned to the flight. The federal air marshals onboard contacted local and federal law enforcement officials who came to the gate and escorted the individuals in question off the aircraft to ensure they posed no threat to the flight. After deplaning the remaining passengers and performing a sweep of the aircraft and rescreening all passengers, crew, checked and carry-on baggage, the flight departed two hours late without the nine passengers who were detained for questioning.

We regret that the issue escalated to the heightened security level it did on New Year's Day, but we trust everyone understands that the security and the safety of our passengers is paramount and cannot be compromised.

We apologize to all of the passengers -- to the nine who had to undergo extensive interviews from the authorities and to the 95 who ultimately made the flight. Nobody on Flight 175 reached their destination on time on New Year's Day, and we regret it.

The airline has refunded the air fares of the nine passengers detained for questioning, has agreed to reimburse the passengers for expenses incurred by taking another airline and has also offered to transport the passengers home to Washington, DC, free of charge.

Source: AirTran Press Room (check both press releases dated 01/02/09):
http://pressroom.airtran.com/phoenix.zh ... l-overview

[Advisor]

The airline in question has also tendered an apology to those affected.

[favourite_belgian]

I wonder what the "inappropriate" comments were and what happened to the passengers that heard them.

[Advisor]

I wonder what the "inappropriate" comments were and what happened to the passengers that heard them.

I read it in the media that the inappropriate comments that the concerned people who got offloaded were relating to which was the safest place to sit on that airplane, which sparked the panic and the aftermath followed.

[LX-LGX]

I wonder what the "inappropriate" comments were and what happened to the passengers that heard them.

I read it in the media that the inappropriate comments that the concerned people who got offloaded were relating to which was the safest place to sit on that airplane, which sparked the panic and the aftermath followed.

The only source for what has been said, are the offloaded pax. How it was told, to who it was told, how loud it was told, what exactly has been told: all important issues that we really don't know.

The airline in question has also tendered an apology to those affected.

The apology was not "to those affected" only, but to all passengers. So it's not a confession from AirTran that their crew made an error. It's an apology like if the plane would have been diverted because of fog or heavy snowfall, or when the flight was delayed because of a missing passenger.


The press release from AirTran seems to be an objective report on what happened: some passengers heard an inappropriate remark about safety, and they've alerted the crew. The crew informed the onboard air marshalls, and these officials decided to offload the party involved and to overdo the security check for all passengers (hence the apology).

Lessons for all : do not, do never make jokes about safety and security matters. At any time.